Will I Go To Prison For A Common Assault First Offence?

Whether you will go to prison for a common assault first offence depends on a number of factors.

All offences before the courts have sentencing guidelines. The court must follow the guidelines unless there are good reasons not to.

The court will look at the offence and identify what makes it more serious and also what will make it less serious.

In the case of common assault the factors that will make it more serious are the extent of any injuries, whether the victim is vulnerable and repeated assaults on the same victim. The court will also look to see whether a weapon was used (this can include a headbutt or kick with a shoe), whether the offence was premeditated and whether you were part of a group or gang attack.

If there are a number of these factors present then the court may consider sending you to prison. The maximum prison sentence for common assault is 6 months.

You can avoid prison even if these factors exist if there are what are known as mitigating factors. These are things that make the offence less serious and include any provocation, whether you have any learning disability and where you acted in self-defence but went too far.

As Criminal Defence Solicitors, Forrest Williams are used to dealing with these types of matters and have a lot of experience in presenting your case in the best possible way to make sure you avoid a prison sentence. We can represent you in any court in the country.

If you would like to have a free chat with us about your case call us on 01623 600645.